Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
This invention relates to a guard or shied removably attached to a toilet seat and used to direct the urine stream of a young boy into the toilet bowl, and to prevent splashing and missing of the toilet bowl.
A variety of apparatuses for preventing urine spills have been proposed. There are a whole series of patents describing devices that open when the toilet seat is raised and close when the toilet seat is lowered. Some recent examples of such devices are seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,135, issued to Jones on Oct. 15, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,589, issued to Rego and Levesque on Dec. 20, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,925, issued to Blaha on Jan. 11, 1994; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,776, issued to Sarjeant on Jul. 27, 1981. All of the above-described devices are permanently or semi-permanently attached to the toilet bowl making cleaning of the devices difficult. In contrast, the present invention is designed to be easily removed from the toilet bowl to facilitate use of and cleaning of the device.
There is another series of patents that describe urine shields that are mounted on the toilet bowl rim by means of a flange or similar part. The use of a flange, clips, or other means of mounting the shield on the toilet bowl rim makes placement and removal of the shield difficult. In all of these patents, the urine shield must be carefully positioned to fit exactly on the toilet bowl rim. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,071,778 issued to Renshaw on Jan. 8, 1963, discloses a toilet shield that is mounted by means of a xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d shaped flange on either the toilet bowl rim or the toilet seat. In a comparable design, U.S. Pat. No. 2,980,919 issued to Otto and Swann on Apr. 25, 1961, discloses a toilet shield that attaches to the toilet rim by means of an outwardly projecting flange. In another comparable design, U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,840, issued to Masters et al. on Jan. 7, 1992, claims a toilet shield that is held in place by a means for supporting the shield on the toilet bowl rim. The support means is described in the specification as a xe2x80x9cflange or like part.xe2x80x9d In yet another comparable design, U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,431, issued to Wertz on Nov. 14, 1995, discloses a lip that mounts on the toilet bowl rim.
There are also design patents that describe toilet shields that are mounted on the toilet bowl rim by means of a flange or similar device. These include U.S. Pat. No. D394,900, issued to Tae Cho Kang on Jun. 2, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. D405,168, issued to Henry on Feb. 2, 1999; and U.S. Pat. No. D365,386, issued to McDonald et al. on Dec. 12, 1995.
In a related series of patents, the shield is mounted on the toilet bowl rim by means of hooks, clips, or other similar device. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,512, issued to Bressler on Jun. 2, 1992, discloses a shield or guard that is secured on the toilet bowl rim by means of clips. U.S. Pat. No. D394,497, issued to Johnson on May 19, 1998, claims a design for a shield that is mounted on the toilet bowl rim by means of clips with screws. U.S. Pat. No. D369,856, issued to Lucido on May 14, 1996, claims a design that is mounted to the toilet bowl rim by means of suction cups and clip-like projections.
The use of a flange, clips, or other means of mounting the shield on the toilet bowl rim makes placement and removal of the shield unwieldy. In order to remove the shield it will have to be disengaged from the entire toilet bowl rim. Removal of such a shield will require the use of two hands to manipulate the shield. Likewise, inserting a shield that is mounted on the toilet bowl rim will require exact alignment of the shield and rim. This is especially true for Otto et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,980,919, and Lucido, U.S. Pat. No. D369,856, which both have members that fit underneath the toilet bowl rim. Moreover, because toilet bowls come in different sizes, the use of flanges or clips with an inflexible shield will mean that the shield can only fit on one toilet bowl size.
The present invention is attached to the toilet simply by mounting the shield on the raised toilet seat. The present invention can be easily removed by lifting the shield upwards. The present invention can be removed using only one hand. The present invention can be easily inserted into the toilet bowl by compressing the sides of the shield and placing the hook on the toilet seat.
The present invention is made out of a flexible material so that it will fit into any size toilet bowl. Several of the toilet guard patents describe guards made out of solid material that will fit on only one size toilet bowl. Masters et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,840) discloses a free standing, non-resilient channel to direct urine into the toilet bowl. Likewise, Renshaw (U.S. Pat. No. 3,071,778) discloses a funnel shaped guard that necessarily made of a solid material. In a comparable design, Wertz, (U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,431) discloses a urinal trainer made out of rigid plastic material. The use of solid material for the shield means that the shield will fit only one size toilet bowl, or that different shields must be purchased for different size bowls. The present invention is made out of flexible material and can be used in any size bowl.
The prior art also includes targets for improving a boy""s aim while urinating. U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,113, issued to Kogut on May 17, 1988, discloses a target that is attached to the toilet bowl rim and shows a picture only after getting wet. In a comparable design, U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,405, issued to Kreiss on Aug. 30, 1977, discloses a target that may be placed inside the toilet bowl. Neither of these inventions includes a urine shield. Bressler, U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,512, discloses a target on the urine shield. However, the target is placed above the rim of the toilet bowl. This will have the effect of teaching boys to direct the urine stream too high. One embodiment of the present invention discloses a target placed close to the water surface, teaching boys to direct the urine stream into the toilet bowl.
The present invention is a flexible shield that is used to toilet train boys. The shield is inserted into the toilet bowl along the back rim of the bowl. A clip on the back of the shield attaches to the upraised toilet bowl seat and allows the shield to be easily inserted and easily removed. The shield prevents urine from splashing outside the toilet bowl. The shield also may contain a target to encourage proper aiming of the urine stream.
Several of the objects and advantages of the present invention are described below.
One object of the invention is to direct the urine stream of a boy into the toilet bowl, so as to avoid messy spills and clean-up.
It is a further object to provide an easy to insert and easy to remove urine shield that fits on any size toilet bowl.
It is still a further object to provide an inexpensive urine shield.
It is still a further object to provide an easy to clean urine shield.
It is still a further object to help to teach boys to direct their urine stream into the toilet bowl.
Further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.